Russia

The Jewish Autonomous Region

The Jewish Autonomous Region is a small piece of the Holy Land in the centre of Siberia. Its total area is 36.3 thousand square kms. It is situated in the southern part of the Far East and has a favourable geographical position. It borders on the Amur region in the west, the Khabarovsk Territory in the east and its southern border coincides with Russian-China state border along the Amur river. The region is closely located to the Pacific Ocean and has sortie through the Amur water way to the seas of the Pacific Ocean. The TransSiberian line runs through the territory and it provides the shortest way from Western Europe to the Asian-Pacific Region. The region's history goes back to the 28th of March in 1928, when the USSR CEC (Central Executive Committee) adopted the decree on creating Jewish Autonomous Region. But the history has its prehistory as weel. There was established a Committee for agrarian organisation of working Jewish (COMSET) with P.G. Cmidovich in the head in 1921. The necessity of such an organisation had been obvious long before the Revolution. The Jews, being limited in rights by the tsarism, were one of the most wretched ethnoses in the country and had very limited opportunities for their mental and artistic potential implementation. That's what they was organized a territory's search for more than 2-million people resettlement. At first, L.G.Smidovich suggested the Crimean territory as he  most suitable in climate temrs. But he failed as there became possible a crisis with the local indigeneous. The territories of the Ukraine, Stavropol, Smolensk and Pskov region didn't suit as well because of their own thick population. That's why the Amur river region was the choice. The Amur river region had always been a place of living of indigeneous independent tribes (he Daurs, the Dyuchers and the Tungus) and runaway Cossacks, free enterpreneurs, peasant and secessions. The first frointire group came to this hospitable region in the May of 1928. Russian Jewish especially apprecited that the region was within Russia, within their Motherland. A prospect of Jewish nationhood revival came home in the US jewish diasporas. This event activated immigrants from Argentine, France, Latvia, Germany, Belgium, the USA and Palestine coming to the region (about 700 people in total). The region was transformed into the Jewish Autonomous Region on the 7of May in 1934 and it joined the Khabaravsk Territory after its foundation in 1938. Multinational culture and art has become developed in the Jewish Autonomous Region. Besides reginal newspapers, a literature, art and public magazine "Forpost' ("Outpost") was published. Jewish theatre in Birobidzhan has gained fame and exprience as well. The Jewish Autonomous Region is probably the only place in the world now ,where Jewish representatives can live within national culture without suffering from violence.